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TikTok is popular worldwide – so how did it become so controversial?

TikTok has always denied that it could be influenced by Beijing
TikTok has always denied that it could be influenced by Beijing (PA Wire)
  • TikTok faces a potential ban in the US by April 5th if its parent company, ByteDance, doesn't sell the app to a US owner.
  • This follows a 2020 ban in India and partial bans in other countries like the UK and EU due to national security concerns.
  • Despite these restrictions and bans affecting over 3 billion people, TikTok boasts over 2 billion users globally and remains the fastest-growing platform in the US.
  • The app's popularity extends to news consumption, with a significant portion of young adults using it as a news source.
  • Concerns exist regarding potential Chinese government influence and censorship, with groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation opposing the ban.
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